Glass
by Gabriel06
Summary: AU world with university setting. Mainly focuses on Gaara and Naruto. Gaara is a tormented youth who catches Naruto's attention. BoyxBoy relationship later develops.
1. Ends of the Earth

_**Glass**_

_Chapter #01 - Ends of the Earth_

Standing with his back against the outside of his apartment building, a young adolescent slowly brings a cigarette to his lips. He inhales gradually, extracting as much of the toxic substance as his lungs could hold. His face is masked behind a stoic expression that fails to display his ill mood. Taking one last drag, he kicks himself off the wall and slowly treks his way toward Konoha University.

* * *

A small group of people were slowly assembling themselves in front of a pair of young men who were dressed in the same bright green shirt and black slacks.

"Is it almost time?" asked a golden-haired blonde while in the midst of a yawn.

"Just about, Naruto." answered a feral-looking male. He was currently holding a vivid green sign that stated 'College of Liberal Arts' as high as he could above his head.

Stifling another yawn, the blonde turns to face his friend. With a slight look of confusion, he asks "Hey Kiba, why are you here again?"

"I've already told you. Sai was supposed to be here, but I kinda gave him food poisoning by accident. So...I offered to take on his commitments today." answered the dark-haired male with a sheepish grin.

Naruto responded with a wide smile and quiet laugh. His rowdy companion replies with a mild growl before taking a look at his watch.

"Let's do this." stated Kiba, sporting a mirthful smirk.

Naruto turned his attention to the small gathering of people in front of him. Wearing his most extravagant smile, the blonde started speaking in his characteristically loud voice. "Hello everyone! My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I will be your tour guide today! This guy here is Kiba Inuzuka." Naruto proceeded to point towards the young man next to him. "He'll be helping me out today. As the sign states, we are representing the College of Liberal Arts. If this does not apply to you, please search for the KONS volunteer in the surrounding area holding the sign of your respective college. And for those who don't know, 'KONS' stands for 'Konoha Orientation for New Students'. Its pronounced like cons, but it starts with a 'k'. Kinda funny, right. Anyhoo, are there any questions so far?"

Naruto allowed for a few moments of silence before he continued. "Great. We'll first start by touring the various buildings that house the majors of, well, Liberal Arts!. Oh, and before I forget, let me tell you a little something about myself." Naruto beamed at his last statement. His eyes shifted to the back right of the group as he noticed a newcomer just arriving. Naruto locked eyes with those of the new arrival then quickly turned his attention back to the whole group.

"I'm a sophomore pursuing a major in Sociology. I'm also minoring in Psychology. Oh, and also I'm the R.A. of the 6th floor in Hokage Hall. If you have any questions during the tour, please ask!".

* * *

The stoic teen was currently not happy. He stood with his back against an old brick building while scanning over a sheet of paper in his hands.

Earlier, the male had managed to locate the quad of Konoha University without help and arrived only minorly late. However, his mood began a steady downhill drop as soon he met the eyes of a certain blonde volunteer. The blonde was loud. And not only that, he didn't stop talking throughout the entire tour! The apathetic male almost lashed out at any idiot who dared to ask the volunteer a question, thereby prolonging the excursion around campus.

The blonde and his friend guided the small group around the university, pointing out buildings of interest. After finally being lead back to the area from which they began, the blonde directed them towards a building that housed a computer lab. This is where the unsettled male proceeded to register for classes using the pin he obtained from an earlier meeting with his advisor. After printing his schedule, he immediately left and propped himself against the outside wall of the establishment.

"I like your 'I've come from the ends of the Earth' look." stated a cheerful voice with dramatic emphasis.

Lifting his eyes from his schedule, the youth shot a glare at whoever decided to interrupt his contemplation. To his dismay, it was the blonde volunteer.

Naruto ignored the glare, but took notice of the small frown that had formed on the redhead's lips. He meant his statement to be a compliment. Naruto had observed the young man exiting the building and had been almost...disquieted about the redhead's attitude during the tour.

The aforementioned male had shockingly red hair, although the tattoo on his forehead had a more vibrant shade. His seafoam colored eyes were outlined in black, Naruto concluded it must be eyeliner. He wore a pair of baggy, rundown camo pants. Matching in color to the pants, his shirt was a dark, forest green. On the front was an image of an urban looking lion that had dreadlocks and a pair of earphones. In addition, he wore a loose maroon sweatshirt that was currently unzipped. Naruto had noticed earlier that the back displayed some sort of hourglass design. Lastly, he wore black boots that rose a few inches above the ankle. They were adorned with buckles and shoe-laces that had the appearance of twisted rope.

Plastering a friendly smile on his face, Naruto proceeded to grab the schedule out of the redhead's grasp. He gave it a quick lookover before facing the stoic male again.

"So...Gaara...Need help finding your classes?"

"..."

"I see you have an apartment in town. Why didn't you come to one of the earlier KONS?."

"..."

Naruto's smile slightly faltered. Although Gaara was looking at him, it sort of seemed like he was looking through him. It was if the blonde wasn't even there. Naruto had already guessed the redhead didn't have much to offer in the facial expressions category, but he had hoped the other would at least say something to him.

The blonde scrutinized the boy's schedule once again. Looking at the date-of-birth, Naruto's face contorted as he performed mental math.

"You're...17, right?"

"..."

"Too young to be smoking." Naruto stated. He had noticed the cigarette smell on the redhead's clothing when he first approached him.

"...do you have a point somewhere?"

Naruto was slightly taken aback as he heard a deep, raspy voice coming from Gaara. It was the sound of a voice that hadn't been used in a while. Pleased at finally being acknowledged, the blonde's grin once again gained its former brilliance.

"Of course I do! You're new and I want to help. And just so you know...the school doesn't tolerate any kind of illegal activity. In other words, I wouldn't get caught smoking on university grounds if I were you."

Gaara reached his hand forward. It was a slightly awkward gesture.

Naruto studied the offered hand, and just as awkwardly reached his hand to shake Gaara's. However this caused another, slightly deeper than before, frown to appear on the redhead's face.

"...paper."

Naruto stared at Gaara with his head tilted slightly to the right. With sudden realization he blurted, "Oh! You mean you want your schedule? haha...yeah, sure." After a few more awkward moments, the blonde realized he was still grasping Gaara's hand. He proceeded to quickly drop it in favor of presenting the schedule. Gaara grabbed the paper out of Naruto's hand lightly. The blonde responded by bringing his free arm behind his back, his hand resting on his lower neck in a gesture of modest embarrassment.

"So...do you wanna get something to eat? It'll be my treat!"

Naruto didn't like how Gaara's hand had felt in his. Although the redhead was small, Naruto felt he should have more weight on him.

Gaara continued to give the blonde his indifferent expression. His sour mood had slightly cracked his mask, giving Naruto hints to as how he was feeling. The redhead didn't want to spend anymore time around the blonde than was absolutely necessary. However, Naruto offered him food - free food.

Gaara was able to attend university because the Land of Fire offered education for free; in other words, it was payed for by the government. However, students were still required to pay for their own food and housing.

The smaller male slightly nodded his head, deciding to endure the company of the blonde. Naruto gave a small but genuine smile before turning around walking towards the eastern dining center. Gaara's light footsteps sounded behind him, so Naruto started a one-sided conversation.

Gaara was somewhat amazed at the blonde's ability to chat so much. Even more astonishing was how the blonde managed to speak of various unrelated things as if they were vital to some main idea yet to be known. After a short walk that seemed to drag on for ages, Naruto guided Gaara into a building named 'Hokage Dining Center'.

"This is the eastern dining center. It's actually connected to the dorm complex I live in." the golden haired youth stated. "My favorite place to eat is called Ichiraku. They have the BEST ramen ever!" Naruto exclaimed. Gaara continued to follow the energetic blonde to the mentioned restaurant. It was small in size compared to its neighboring pizzeria and deli.

"I'll be ordering ramen for myself, but you go ahead and order anything you want. It doesn't have to be from ichiraku either." Flashing another brilliant smile, Naruto went on to order his lunch. After selecting to eat from the deli, Gaara went to stand in line. Naruto strolled over as Gaara was placing his order and proceeded to give the cashier a ten dollar bill. After receiving his change, the pair waited for their orders to be called out.

Gaara received his first and sat down at a booth in an alcove area of the dining room. Naruto quickly found him and sat himself across from the redhead.

Naruto continued talking through mouthfuls of his pork ramen dish. Gaara was almost appalled by the speed at which the blonde devoured his meal.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Gaara lifted his eyes to the blonde and waited for further elaboration.

"That's my name. You didn't hear the beginning of my awesome introduction earlier, right?."

Gaara didn't respond. Instead he resumed his slow consumption of the made-to-order sandwich that was presently occupying his hands.

Naruto let the redhead eat and once again assaulted Gaara's ears with a non stop chatter.

About half an hour had gone by when Gaara finally finished eating. Without a word to the blonde, he got up and placed his plate on the dish carousel before making his way toward the exit.

"Hey! where you goin?" Naruto asked as he followed Gaara.

"Home." Gaara replied, hoping it would satisfy the blonde.

"Do you need a lift?"

Gaara spoke with a tinge of annoyance and anger as he answered, "No."

The blonde frowned before plastering another smile on his face. He had noticed Gaara's address on his schedule and recognized it to be in the "ghetto" part of town. "Okay...but don't be afraid to find me if you need help."

Gaara didn't respond so Naruto left with saying, "I'll see you later!". The redhead didn't like the sound of the blonde's voice as he said that statement. It almost sounded knowing, as if the blonde just knew he would see Gaara later. The redhead quickly dismissed the thought as he reminded himself of the fairly large size of the university.

* * *

Gaara opened the door to his apartment. The door lacked insulation, which caused it to swell. This resulted in a constantly cold apartment with a door that dragged across the floor. The redhead had given up on trying to get the door to completely close. He had nothing to steal, so it didn't matter that he couldn't close the slab of wood enough to be locked.

The redhead then walked into the living room of his apartment. Along with the living room space, it contained a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Normally a one-bedroom apartment would be out of his budget; however, this particular apartment had a dramatically reduced price. It was located in the slums and not well taken care off. Everything was caked in years of dust, dirt, and grime from the previous tenants. Damage from a fire destroyed the stovetop on the barely working oven. The toilet had a mysterious green goo coating it. The carpet was mislaid, frayed, burned, and in some parts just gone.

With a small sigh, Gaara placed his schedule on the kitchen countertop. He didn't hate it here, in fact, it was better than his previous home. But that difference was one of atmosphere, not physical attributes.

The redhead backed up against a corner wall and slid down until he sat in an almost fetal position. His head was beginning to ache and he felt dizzy. A constant pounding was in his head as he faintly registered the sound of this front door opening.


	2. Pieces

**_Glass_**

_Chapter #02: Pieces_

It was Monday. This simple fact was the reason Naruto was feeling so ecstatic. Normally he hated the first lectures of the term. The instructors would spend the whole period explaining the class syllabus and course information, which was already posted online days before. They painfully go over every sentence as if the students hadn't already read through it - which Naruto didn't. He never does, but still feels a strong urge to not have an entire class dedicated to the subject.

All weekend the blonde had fixated on the thought of a certain redhead he had newly become acquainted with. There was something about the look in Gaara's eyes that had Naruto feeling all twisted inside. Honestly, he felt like he wanted to vomit. That look carried a haunting familiarity that Naruto just couldn't place.

This lead Naruto to want to get to know more about the stoic redhead. The blonde had never met someone with such a painfully void face; well, except for Sai. However, Naruto was simply freaked out by Sai's vacant expression and faked smile. When he saw Gaara, the blonde felt somber.

Naruto knew his best chance at approaching the redhead would be today, on Monday. This resulted in the blonde's spirited mood. Naruto took out his course schedule and gave it a quick runthrough for good measure.

Naruto's Course Schedule

**1. PH 104: Descriptive Astronomy**

MWF 1:00-1:50pm; Instructor Kakashi Hatake; 4 credits

**2. SOC 241: Introduction to Crime and Justice**

TR 12:00-1:30pm; Instructor Iruka Umino; 3 credits

**3. PSY 202: General Psychology**

MWF 2:00-2:50pm; Instructor Ibiki Morino; 3 credits

**4. MTH 111: College Algebra**

TR: 10:00-11:30am; Instructor Asuma Sarutobi; 4 credits

(PH = physics; SOC = sociology; PSY = psychology; MTH = math)

Naruto let out a small grunt as his eyes met with his least favorite subject - math. Not only was it a math class, but it was a morning math class. The blonde had purposefully picked classes that took place in the afternoon at the earliest. However, Math 111 was a required course for his bachelor's degree. Naruto had spent the last 1 1/2 academic years struggling through lower level math classes to get to this point. This was his last one. He knew if he passed he would feel over the moon.

Putting those thoughts aside, the hyper male took a sip of milk straight from the container as we glanced over at his alarm clock. The digital numbers flashed 12:40pm.

'shit.'

Naruto practically threw the milk carton back into his mini-refrigerator before hastily pulling on random clothing.

* * *

Gaara sat in the back row of his largest sized classroom. Seating was divided into three sections from which Gaara had chosen to sit on the right handed division. Furthermore, he chose the seat closest the the wall. He was not looking forward to sharing a classroom with 250 other students. In order to distract himself, the readhead started to doodle on a blank page of this notebook.

Five minutes after 1:00pm, Naruto stood just outside of his astronomy classroom. He leaned into the doorway with his hand resting on the propped open door to his right. His gasps for air caused by the mad dash to his current position was starting to draw attention to him.

While catching his breath, Naruto's eyes scanned the room before settling on a familiar shock of red. Even though the classroom was fairly full, no one occupied the seats near Gaara. The blonde wasted no time shuffling his way over to the inexpressive male.

Gaara paused in the midst of his sketch as he sensed someone take occupation of the seat immediately to his left. After a moment he resumed his previous activity, choosing to ignore the intrusive presence.

Naruto noticed Gaara had briefly ceased moving as he invaded the seat beside the redhead. The blonde frowned when Gaara didn't acknowledge his presence. The redhead didn't even glance his way.

"Hey Gaara! Fancy meeting you here!"

Gaara was startled by the loud voice shouting his name. He was horrified when he realized it was the blonde male from the previous week. Said blonde was currently staring at him with a wide grin plastered onto his face.

'Is he expecting something?' Gaara thought to himself as the blonde's staring continued.

As Naruto observed the redhead's blank expression morph into a glare, his smile slightly lost its luster. "Something wrong?" Naruto asked, attempting to ease the tension between the pair.

"Coincidence."

"hm?" Naruto vocalized as he failed to understand Gaara's statement.

"It wasn't coincidence. You knew." was Gaara's frustrated attempt at an explanation laced with accusation.

Naruto's eyes widened with surprise then quickly shifted to convey guilt. Placing a hand behind his head to rest on his lower neck, the blonde said "Yeah, well...you know. You let me look at your schedule. I saw we both had astronomy, I just didn't mention it at the time."

Gaara's eyes narrowed at the 'you let me see your schedule' comment, but he didn't say anything to the blonde.

Naruto was scanning the redhead's face to discern his reaction. He realized Gaara's emotions could be found as micro-expressions and small shifts in posture. Naruto could tell the redhead was slightly annoyed at his recounting of events. Brushing that aside, he plastered another brilliant smile on his face.

"Wanna have lunch together? My treat." Naruto noticed Gaara's non-existent eyebrows slightly furrow together and the minor pull of his lips downward. He concluded the redhead was determinedly hopeful. "It would have to be a late lunch 'cause I have another class right after this one. Is three o'clock good for you?"

"...three o'clock." the redhead responded. Naruto took the repeated time suggestion as a confirmation. This caused the blonde to smile genuinely at Gaara.

At this time, Naruto noticed the redhead's sketch. As he was about to comment on it, he heard a familiar voice echo from the front of the room.

"Hello everyone. Sorry I'm late, but a black cat crossed my path as I was heading to work today. Naturally, I had to take an entirely different path - you know, to avoid any bad luck." stated a silver-haired male leisurely. He was dressed casually in navy blue slacks and matching long-sleeved shirt. His look was completed with a dusky green vest with a high neck, effectively concealing half the man's face.

"You're such a liar!" Naruto shouted, resulting in the entire class turning to look in his general direction. Naruto was pointing an accusing finger at the silver-haired male while inclining over his desk. However, out of his peripheral vision Naruto saw Gaara hunch his shoulders forward, marginally looking as if he was collapsing into himself. He then proceeded to cross his arms over his chest.

Upon seeing this, Naruto felt a stab of guilt as he realized the redhead's extreme discomfort at being in the focal range of everyone's attention.

"Calm down, Naruto."

Naruto was thankful for the older male's response when the students turned their attention once again to the front of the class.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake and I will be your instructor for this course. If we're all in the right place then everyone is here to learn Descriptive Astronomy."

* * *

It was currently 2:55pm. Naruto had waited impatiently for his final class of the day to be over with. Naruto didn't speak much to Gaara after his little outburst. He decided to let the smaller male get back to a state of mild comfort. However, he made sure to remind Gaara of his lunch offer at the end of the period before he quickly ran off to locate his psychology class.

As soon as class ended, Naruto briskly started walking toward the Hokage Dining Center. Halfway to his destination, he suddenly realized he didn't specify where they were going to have lunch. Now aware of his absentmindedness, the blonde smacked his forehead with his palm. His brisk walk then proceeded to turn into a sprint.

By 2:58pm Naruto had burst through the doors of the eastern food court. He was delighted to find the redhead sitting in the same alcove area as the prior week. It had a more private atmosphere as it was mostly closed off from the rest of the dining area. The lighting was softer and not many people sat in this particular location.

"Yo!" Naruto chirped. He noticed Gaara's eyes widen and his lips slightly part.

'And that was surprise.'

Naruto smiled at his inner musings. He slowly approached the redhead while continuing his previous dialog. "Where do you feel like eating today?"

Gaara didn't say anything. He stood up and walked towards the northern area of the dining center. He stopped in front of the Raintree Cafe and waited expectantly.

"Coffee? You sure?..."

The redhead responded by blankly staring at Naruto.

"Okay. I'll get you something here but I'm also going to get you something from Ichiraku."

Gaara disliked the blonde's statement. He was eager for the food, but disapproved of the authoritative tone that left no room for argument.

* * *

Naruto was walking to the alcove area with his pork ramen in one hand and Gaara's ox tongue bento in the other. He smiled to himself as he remembered the redhead's expression as he placed his order at Ichiraku's. Although tongue is not something Naruto would delight in eating, the redhead's lips slightly quivered upwards as he stated his order. Gaara had the same expression as he ordered a banana chocolate chip muffin and salted caramel mocha from the Raintree Cafe.

As Naruto approached the table Gaara was sitting at, he noticed the look of content on the redhead's face. Although a blank mask to the outside world, Naruto saw that his features were relaxed. The blonde also noticed how Gaara's fingers were lightly tapping the table in rhythm with the music that was playing through the dining center's speakers. The current song was "Pieces" by Sum 41.

Naruto set the food down and gave a short laugh as he noticed Gaara had already devoured the muffin. The redhead responded with a questioning look.

Naruto gave no explanation and went on to eat his ramen. He glanced at Gaara between mouthfuls, taking note of the frantic pace the other was eating at. Although it wasn't near Naruto's pace, the desperate manner suggested the redhead didn't know when his next meal would come. Despite the blond's gloomy feeling towards Gaara's food security, the quantity of food the redhead was currently consuming made him pleased for the present moment. The stoic male's bento centered around a stir-fried and lightly salted ox tongue. Rice, miso, salad, seaweed, and three sushi rolls were also included in the meal.

Gaara never liked eating fast. Even when the blonde first bought him lunch, he managed to consume it in a slow and controlled manner. Yet once the redhead caught the scent emerging off the bento box, he couldn't control himself. He had gone the whole weekend without food and his stomach felt like it was locked in a permanent knot.

The previous friday, the redhead's sister Temari payed him a visit. She didn't bother knocking because she already knew the state of Gaara's apartment. She had come to bring over a bag of school supplies - notebooks, pencils, pens, etc.

Gaara knew he if had asked her, Temari would've bought him enough food for at least a month. However, the redhead wanted to maintain the distance he had created between himself and his family. Anytime one of his siblings had come over, he never once let them know he was hurting for money. Yet, that didn't stop them from guessing as it wasn't a well disguised fact.

Likewise, Gaara didn't tell Temari about his enrollment into Konoha University; she found out by going through his mail. She would often steal his overdue bills and secretly pay them. If and when the redhead found out, he banned her from his apartment. Temari would wait about a month before she attempted to visit again.

In the end Gaara kept the school supplies; after all, he desperately needed them. In addition, he thought that by accepting the gift he could avoid discussing why Temari had found him furiously holding his head and on the verge of passing out.

Naruto had finished his ramen and watched as Gaara's face displayed an arrangement of miniscule expressions while he ate.

'annoyance...resolve...anger...annoyance again...defeat...and anxiety. He must be thinking about something'. thought Naruto.

"So..."

When Naruto spoke the redhead ceased in his movements; his grasped chopsticks paused midway to his slightly open mouth. Gaara drew out of his thoughts and focused his eyes on the blonde.

When Naruto noticed the redhead's face switch back to its apathetic expression, he continued. "Maybe we could have lunch together again. Like tomorrow?"

A miniature frown appeared on Gaara's face. 'Bastard...I'm not his fucking charity case.'

Naruto immediately sensed the tense air surrounding Gaara. The redhead's eyes had slightly narrowed, his non-existent eyebrows knitted together, and a small frown appeared on his lips.

'Oops...pissed him off.'

"I thought maybe we could be friends. It doesn't have to be lunch, we could just hang out."

"...why?"

Naruto took note of the suspicion in Gaara's voice and casually answered, "Just because."

This answer didn't satisfy Gaara. But he was curious as to why the blonde would want to spend time with him. It was at this point the redhead looked over Naruto with a discerning eye.

The blonde had an amazing shade of blue eyes that stood out against his golden-yellow hair. He wore a black short sleeved top with some sort of orange fire symbol on the front. In addition, he wore baggy black cargo pants. Around his neck was a unique looking necklace made from some type of precious stone. His most noticeable feature was the whisker like scars across his face.

Naruto felt slightly uneasy under Gaara's intense gaze. However, he maintained his smile throughout Gaara's scrutiny and took this time to also take in Gaara's appearance. The redhead had on a pair of cargo pants similar to his; however, they were considerably more worn out. He also wore an oversized maroon v-neck sweater.

In the end, the redhead's curiosity conquered his pride. Gaara answered Naruto's previous inquiry with a short "Fine."

At that, Naruto's smile broke out into a huge grin.

* * *

Naruto stood alongside Gaara inside the dining center. They were standing in front of the glass doors, looking out at the sudden rainfall. The blonde let out a long, dissatisfied moan. He was in such a hurry to get to class earlier that he forgot his jacket.

When he turned to look at Gaara, the blonde noticed the intense look of sleep on the redhead's face. Naruto frowned in concern and asked "Do you need to rest? You could hang out in my room for a bit. Plus, we would only have to face the rain for a minute."

Gaara knew he wanted to say no, but he couldn't manage to get the words out. Instead he just stood, slightly wavering. He felt a hand on his shoulder and shivered under the contact.

'He seems out of it.' Naruto thought to himself. With his hand on Gaara's shoulder, he lightly guided the redhead out of the building. The rain hit harshly on the pair, but Naruto proceeded to slowly walk Gaara to the left of the building. He stopped in front of a door and raised his school I.D. up to a scanner. After a deep sounded, the door unlocked.

By the time he got Gaara in front of the elevator, Naruto was practically holding the redhead up onto his feet. Naruto repeatedly pushed the up button until the large double doors opened.

Once in front of his dorm room, Naruto was glad he forgot to lock the door. Turning the handle, he pushed open the door and slowly walked over to his bed. He then proceeded to gently set Gaara down. The redhead was still conscious, but seemed dazed.

"Gaara...are you okay?" Naruto asked with concern in his voice. Gaara didn't respond. Naruto studied the redhead's face closely. It was then he realized that the darkness encircling Gaara's eyes wasn't eyeliner.

'Damn. He's an insomniac to the extreme.'

As the blonde finished his thought, Gaara suddenly passed out. Naruto lifted the redhead's legs to lay them on the bed. He then straightened out Gaara's upper body. Once he was finished, he placed his hands on this head and let out a long sigh.


	3. What the Fuck Do You Know

_**Glass**_

_Chapter #03: What the Fuck Do You Know _

His mind was reaching consciousness, but Gaara fought against it. It took time for his brain to register why he didn't want to wake. The redhead was incredibly comfortable; in fact, he had no memory of ever sleeping on something so soft.

This caused the aforesaid male to freeze all movements, even his lungs ceased to function. As conscious thought began to return, the redhead knew he wasn't in a familiar setting. He kept his eyes shut tight, in fear of what he would see if he opened them. It was beyond Gaara's grasp to equate anything soft to his material world. It would not be unreasonable for him to assume that he had died.

But if he were dead, where was he now? Gaara wasn't a particularly religious person. He held no notions about paradise or hell, yet he has heard descriptions of such places. Heaven was located up above; a kingdom in the clouds. He certainly felt as if he were lying on a cloud. Was he wrong to discount the idea of a divine adobe?

However, he also remembered hearing that heaven was reserved for the pure - the clean who never dabbled in sin. At this thought, Gaara abandoned any idea about being dead. If heaven were real, they would never let him in.

The redhead let out a strangled breath and opened his eyes. He slowly lifted his upper body to look around. It was dark, but he adapted quickly. There was a blanket draped on top of him and the soft object beneath him was a bed. He appeared to be in a studio apartment, lying opposite of a wall with a large, heavy grey door. To his left was a closet, dresser and another door that wasn't like the first. This door was a simple wooden one. Looking to his right, Gaara saw a hard maple desk. A table lamp, various sheets of notebook paper, a laptop, and a stack of books looked to be thrown on top of it. Beside the desk was a large rectangular object and behind him was a broad window with the blinds drawn.

As he stared, a small frown appeared on his lips. He had no idea where he was and this caused a sense of distress in the redhead. It was then he started to recount his past activities, trying to understand how he got here. '...astronomy...Uzumaki...waited for him at the dining center...lunch...wasn't feeling well.'

Gaara's frown deepened when he realized what must have happened. A combination of severe insomnia and malnutrition gave him a massive headache. It wasn't something new, he has gone through all the stages of this sequence before.

The first 24 hours staying awake was the hardest. His whole body would ache in a combination of pain and heavy pressure. The next couple of days he felt fine - jittery, but fine. Then he would develop a headache with massive intensity. He developed this type of migraine from lacking a consistent food intake. At first the pain was overwhelming and the redhead could barely function. Next, he reached an 'eye of the storm' period. During this phase Gaara felt relatively normal with only a small drowsiness afflicting him. But this feeling would only last for a couple of days before nausea set in. This feeling of immense sickness caused Gaara to become dizzy. It was harder for his mind to form thoughts, comprehend his surroundings, or perform physical actions. Eventually he would pass out.

However, none of this explained where he was. With one quick movement Gaara flung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet hanging several inches above the floor. Looking down at the linoleum ground, he saw somebody - it was the blonde. Gaara analyzed him for a few moments. Naruto was lying asleep, clad in a pair of pajama pants that featured some type of frog face pattern. He was on his back with his arms above his head, his right leg opened to the side and bent. He wore a smile, even in sleep.

Gaara scoffed and then lowered himself from the bed. He had briefly thought of stomping on the blonde, but quickly rejected the idea. Although it would give him a short moment of satisfaction, such an action would certainly wake the obnoxious male.

The redhead felt a sharp coldness strike his feet as he landed on the smooth surface of the floor. Looking down, he realized he was barefoot. Gaara's eyes narrowed in anger, he didn't like it when people touched him. What made this Uzumaki feel free to undress him? Although it was just his boots he had been stripped of, the redhead felt violated.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes to a dark room. It was still very early and he normally didn't wake up until the sun had well risen in the sky. Not only that, but he was wide awake.

As he slowly sat up, Naruto scanned the bed for Gaara's presence. He frowned when he saw the redhead wasn't there. At the same time, a light from the bathroom drew his attention. Naruto soundlessly stood up and walked toward the faint yellow glow.

He stopped just before the door-frame and had a clear view of the redhead. Gaara was looking at the mirror and appeared to be scrutinizing his reflection. A pang of sadness hit Naruto as he saw a look of disgust appear on the redhead's face.

Gaara then turned his gaze over to the bathtub. 'How long has it been since I've had a decent shower?'

Naruto watched Gaara's reflection and noticed how the redhead's features softened while he stared at the bathtub. The blonde concluded it was a look of yearning.

"You can take a shower if you want."

Gaara's eyes widened and his lips slightly parted at the sound of Naruto's voice. The blonde had stepped closer when he spoke, standing in the doorway with his right hand grasping the frame. Naruto's lips curved into a small, authentic smile. He took pleasure in seeing the redhead's surprised expression. He would never tell anyone, but he thought that look was adorable.

After the initial shock, Gaara's mask came back. He turned to face Naruto, but didn't say anything to him. The blonde hadn't spoken in his characteristically loud voice. Instead, he used a soft, careful tone.

"You should have enough time before your classes. You can borrow some of my clothes and I'll wash the ones you have on now."

Gaara didn't respond. Instead He narrowed his eyes as he stared at the blonde, trying to discern his intentions. Naruto noticed the redhead's mistrustful look and held his hands up at chest level, forming a defensive gesture. "I'm not gonna hurt you or anything."

Gaara turned his head to face the mirror and let out a small grunt. The blonde took this as an affirmative to the shower suggestion. "I'll get you a fresh towel."

* * *

The redhead stood under the hot spray of the shower. He let out a small moan as he felt a layer of dirt wash off his body, tinting the water brown as it flowed down the bathtub's drain. Gaara had a shower stall in his apartment, but he rarely used it. He didn't have the marvelous clean water like the kind that was currently spraying him. His water was polluted with some type of ashy sludge.

As he relaxed, Gaara inwardly reflected on the last few days. In particular, he analyzed why he so readily accepted the blonde's help; he would never accept such offers from his siblings. Maybe it was his sense of pride that so vehemently denied any support from his family. In the scarce times he did accept their aid, such as the school supplies from Temari, he felt resentful.

For most of his life, Gaara's siblings hated and ignored him. They didn't start showing their present concern for him until after the death of their father. The redhead was twelve years old at the time of his father's demise. Perhaps it was easier to accept the blonde's help because they had no previous relationship. Gaara had once seen a therapist and he remembered the man telling him that it's easier to talk to strangers, but the troubled boy didn't believe it at the time.

With a sigh, the redhead cleared his mind. He reached for the bottle of shampoo sitting on the bathtub's ledge. It was a type of tea tree and yucca mixture that made his scalp tingle as he worked the lather through his hair.

* * *

Naruto opened up his dresser, searching for something that would fit the redhead. It was hard to discern exactly how small Gaara was since he tended to wear very loosely fitted clothes. Perhaps he felt more comfortable that way. After a few moments of digging around, the blonde decided on a pair of sweatpants. They were a dark grey color and had a drawstring, so Gaara could tighten them if they were too big. The blonde also pulled out a pair of black cotton boxers. Next he went to his closet and pulled open the double doors. Scanning over its contents, Naruto pulled out a plain long-sleeved black top. He had noticed that Gaara seemed to like dark colors. With a sudden remembrance, the whiskered youth went back to the dresser and pulled out a pair of socks. After Gaara had passed out and it looked like he wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, Naruto had removed his boots. He thought the younger male would be more comfortable that way. After removing the weathered footwear, he noticed the redhead wasn't wearing any socks.

As he placed the clothing items on the bed, Naruto heard the bathroom door open. He turned to greet the redhead, but his words failed him as he caught sight of Gaara's half naked body.

Gaara had cursed himself for not getting the promised wardrobe from the blonde before he stepped into the shower. He contemplated just wearing his own clothes, but they hadn't been washed in some time. In the end, the temptation of wearing fresh, crisp clothing was just too great for the redhead to ignore. He wrapped the towel provided by Naruto around his waist, drew a long breath in, and opened the door.

Naruto gaped at Gaara's thin frame. He had guessed that Gaara would be thin, but he didn't think it would be this bad. 'Oh my God, he's practically a skeleton!'

Gaara felt something unfamiliar as the blonde stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth. The road to starvation had occurred slowly for the redhead. Because it was a gradual change, he didn't notice the weight loss right away. He recognized his frame was smaller than it ought to be, but Gaara didn't fully comprehend his dire state.

Naruto quickly lost his startled look as he noticed Gaara's expression. His face was slightly tinted red, his brow ridge was wrinkled, eyes were downcast, and he wore a frown. The blonde interpreted the expression as embarrassment or shame. Naruto couldn't help but sweep his eyes over Gaara's frame once again, but his time he used an indifferent expression. The redhead's pale skin sunk around his ribs and clavicle. His iliac crest was nauseously pronounced at the sides of his hips. His muscles were whittled down to a paper-thin width.

Naruto turned back around and gently picked up the clothes resting on the bed. Spinning around once again to face Gaara, the blonde wordlessly offered the selected wardrobe while keeping his impartial expression intact. Gaara hesitantly reached for the clothing and returned to the bathroom.

Shutting the door behind him, the redhead looked over the items. He half expected to receive a bright orange tank top but was relieved to discover neutral colors and concealing coverage. Gaara removed his towel and slipped on the sweatpants, tightening the drawstring and tying a secure knot. He hadn't worn underwear lately because he became too slim for his own boxer briefs, so he didn't even attempt to put on Naruto's underpants. Next he pushed his arms through the sleeves of the black crew neck before pulling the shirt over his head. He was delighted to see the pair of socks, but didn't outwardly express this. He shifted his balance to one foot and lifted the other, carefully slipping on a sock. He repeated this with the opposite foot.

After he finished, Gaara stood once again facing the mirror. The unknown emotion was still lingering inside of him and it irked the redhead that he couldn't name it.

Naruto waited patiently for the redhead to dress himself; however, a sense of outrage was slowly building within him. He stood facing the bathroom door and watched as it slowly creaked open. Gaara timidly emerged, his apathetic mask once again in place. A few tense moments passed between the pair before Naruto broke the silence. "Write down your schedule for me." the blonde spoke in a stern voice and stood with his arms loosely crossed.

This wasn't what the redhead had expected. He was taken aback, but managed to conceal it. "...why?" the redhead spoke in a quiet voice.

"I'll be taking you to get something to eat...every day." Naruto answered, He made sure to emphasize the 'every day' part. When it looked as if Gaara was going to object, Naruto cut him off with a stern "You shouldn't be that skinny."

Gaara was gradually growing furious at the blonde but he kept quiet. At the lack of response, Naruto continued speaking. "Even if you didn't have the money, you could have gone to a food bank."

Naruto was almost shocked as he heard the accusing tone in his voice, but retained his authoritative stance. At this point, Gaara's body was shaking in a silent rage. The redhead swiftly turned to his right and walked to the grey, metal door. Before Naruto could follow him the younger male swiftly turned the handle, stepped outside and slammed the door in the blonde's face.

Although it was easy to figure out how to leave the room, Gaara didn't' know exactly how to get out of the building. After a split second standing in the hallway, he quickly choose a direction. It seemed to be the right one because he spotted another heavy metal door at the end of the corridor, but this one had a glowing green exit sign above it.

Naruto let out a huff of annoyance as he had the door slammed before his face. He fiercely opened the door and looked out to notice Gaara quickly striding in the wrong direction. The door he was headed towards lead to an outside balcony. This caused a sense of alarm to go off inside the blonde. He rapidly ran to the redhead and grabbed ahold of his wrist, his previous anger now lost.

At the feeling of Naruto's hand locking around his wrist, Gaara swiftly turned around to face the blonde. "You only spoke to me on two previous occasions. What the fuck do you know?!" At that last statement, Gaara's voice rose to a shout. He emphasized his statement with a swift punch to Naruto's face.

Naruto didn't think the redhead was capable of producing such a deafening tone. However, he didn't have time to reflect on this since a sudden and very painful force smashed into his face. Naruto stumbled backwards, but didn't' release his hold on Gaara's wrist. Using his free hand, the blonde pinched his now bleeding nose. He wanted to diffuse the situation before it got any worse, so he placed a smile on lips and said, "Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I was being a prick...but if you want, I'll get you another muffin from the cafe...as an apology."

Naruto observed as the redhead's shoulders relaxed. He knew that 'muffin' would be the magic word he needed to calm Gaara's rage. He removed his hand from Gaara's wrist and placed it behind the now eased adolescent's back. He noticed Gaara flinched at the light contact, but didn't remove his hand. Instead, he gently guided Gaara back down the hallway to his room. He feared what the younger male would do if he had made it to the balcony. He didn't think it impossible for the redhead to suddenly decide on committing suicide.

Back in the safely of Naruto's dorm room, the blonde removed his hand from Gaara. By this time his nose had stopped bleeding. Because of the redhead's state, he didn't have the strength to cause any serious damage. Naruto flipped the light switch on and walked over to his cluttered desk. He moved some things around until a digital clock was revealed. It flashed 6:22am. "We still have some time before the Raintree opens." Naruto spoke as he turned to face Gaara. "You can have a seat on the bed, I still have to brush my teeth and all. Oh, did you want to do that too?"

Gaara shook his head and then proceed to crawl on top of the bed, sitting with his legs crossed. His teeth were in surprisingly good shape even though he seldom had the money to buy toothpaste and the like. Because he could no longer afford to buy food, Gaara developed an unusual habit. He began to tear the bark off trees and chew on it. This helped to keep his mind off the agonizing knot in his stomach. It also had the unintentional result of effectively cleaning his teeth.

Naruto stared a moment longer at the redhead before walking into the bathroom, his mouth popping out a short "Okay". He kept the door open and washed his hands at the sink. He then dampened a wash cloth and wiped the dry blood from under his nose. Afterwards, Naruto grabbed his toothbrush from the grasp of a small green frog. The joy of seeing the amphibian shaped toothbrush holder he kept stuck to the bottom of the mirror was the only way to keep Naruto brushing his teeth on a daily basis.

Gaara watched the blonde from his position on the bed. Naruto brushed his teeth with great enthusiasm, causing toothpaste foam to fly everywhere. The redhead would have found this surprising if he hadn't noticed the state of Naruto's living space. It was quite messy. Along with the cluttered furniture, laundry and empty ramen cups were strewn across the floor.

After he finished brushing, the older male flossed and proceeded to rinse his mouth with a peppermint mouthwash. He then poked his head out the door and softly spoke, "I'm gonna take a short shower. Don't go anywhere, k?" Gaara's response was a stoic stare. Naruto gave him a wide grin then shut the door.

Naruto made sure to be fast, he didn't want the redhead to leave. He berated himself for being an asshole. He really was sincere in his apology earlier, he just didn't know how to effectively translate this to Gaara.

After he finished with his shower, the blonde wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door. He was greatly relieved to see the redhead still sitting on the bed. Naruto gave him a sheepish smile before asking, "Could you turn around for a moment...facing the corner by the window?" Gaara stared at the blonde with an uninterested look then did as the blonde had asked.

Naruto walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of bright orange boxer shorts. After slipping them on, he picked up his black cargo pants from yesterday off the floor and gave them a quick sniff. After passing his inspection, Naruto slithered into them. He then stepped over to his closet, the smooth wooden doors were still open. He pulled out a black short-sleeved top that had long cuts around the torso where fishnet filled in the gaps. In addition, Naruto pulled out his vibrant orange hoodie. He swiftly pulled on the articles of clothing and then told Gaara he could turn back around.

As Gaara re-positioned himself, Naruto went back into the bathroom and grabbed a jar that was resting next to the sink. He opened the lid and gently swiped his fingers across the contents. Gaara discerned it was some type of white paste. The blonde rubbed the substance between his hands and began to scrub his hair. After he finished, Naruto walked out and offered the jar to Gaara. The redhead didn't know what it was so he just gazed at the container.

"It's a leave-in conditioner. It's cheaper than the liquid kind, plus it's also like a styling product." Naruto spoke with a smile. Gaara continued to stare at the jar with one eye slightly larger than the other. Naruto's smile grew larger as he identified the redhead's look of confusion. He once again swiped his fingers across the paste then set the jar on the bed. The blonde spread the conditioner across his fingers and placed his hands on Gaara's head. The smaller male immediately cringed at the contact and shot Naruto a glare. The blonde waited a few moments before working the conditioner through Gaara's hair, making sure to scrub his scalp.

Gaara detected a coconut smell from the substance. The redhead concluded it was a fitting scent for the blonde. Using an objective gaze, Gaara once again scanned over the blonde. Naruto indeed appeared very topical to the redhead: bright yellow hair, radiant azure eyes, and honey tanned skin.

Gaara looked down at his own hands. The younger male himself had always been light skinned, even when he lived in the desert. However, he recently noticed he was becoming increasingly paler.

Naruto finished rubbing the conditioner into Gaara's hair. The smaller male almost let out a moan at the loss of contact. Gaara would never admit to himself how much he actually enjoyed the scalp massage from the blonde.

With a grin Naruto suddenly ran back into the bathroom, coming back with a comb in hand. He proceeded to untangle Gaara's crimson hair. It was apparent to the blonde that Gaara hadn't brushed his hair in a while; however, Naruto thought it added nicely to his untamed look. He was drawn to the wild and unattainable atmosphere the redhead gave off.

Satisfied with his job, Naruto picked up the forgotten jar on his bed and placed it back into the bathroom. He washed his hands then proceeded to spray himself with some sort of cologne. As Naruto was busying himself in the bathroom, Gaara noticed a beanie on the floor. He got up from the bed and picked it up. It was a black color with a silver Konoha emblem on the front.

* * *

Naruto walked behind Gaara as they approached the Raintree Cafe. They were first in line which Naruto had expected. The redhead took it upon himself to borrow Naruto's beanie hat, but he didn't mind. They had come down to the dining center at exactly 7:00am. Gaara swiftly walked up to the cashier and stated his order. "Banana chocolate chip muffin...and a large salted caramel mocha."

"Think you might want that decaf?" Naruto spoke to Gaara in a low, soft voice. The redhead knew what the underlying question was. The blonde was smart enough to know that caffeine wasn't the reason for his insomnia. This left one other cause for concern. Gaara slightly frowned and spat out, "I drink plenty of water." The redhead then walked away. Naruto gave the cashier a wide grin while rubbing the back of his neck.

Gaara waited where Naruto expected him to be - the alcove area. The blonde approached the booth with his hands full: Gaara's coffee and bagged muffin in one hand, and two breakfast burritos in the other. As he placed the items on the table, the redhead immediately grabbed the bag containing his muffin.

There were very few things Gaara found to be absolutely divine; coffee and chocolate are two of these things. He took a large bite of the muffin and reveled in the sweet taste. The redhead loved sweet things. However, he hated foods that weren't meant to be sweet - like beans and chestnuts. In Gaara's opinion, savory foods should never be candied or jellied.

"I also got you a breakfast burrito from the Shinobi Buffet. It's the restaurant near the Raintree." Gaara was too lost in his indulgence to acknowledge the blonde's words. Naruto gave him a grin before consuming his own food, starting a one-sided conversation between mouthfuls. The redhead was stricken with a sudden sense of deja vu.

After about half an hour, Gaara suddenly got up and started to leave. Naruto rushed after him, "Hey! Where you going?" he questioned with slight desperation in his voice.

"...class."

* * *

Naruto was currently on the first floor laundry room of his dorm complex. He had almost forgotten to wash Gaara's clothes and now had just enough time to get the task done. He groaned as he remembered his 10:00am math class. However, this wasn't the only reason the blonde was in a sour mood. He had forgotten to ask Gaara when and where they should meet up again. With a sigh, Naruto figured the redhead would have to show up sooner or later, he had his clothes after all.

he blonde picked up Gaara's cargo pants and searched the pockets for objects that might get damaged in the wash. He detected a folded paper inside and pulled it out. Naruto looked around the empty room and then opened the sheet of paper. 'I'm definitely not being nosy...not at all'

The tan male was delighted to see it was Gaara's schedule.

Gaara's Course Schedule

**1. PH 104: Descriptive Astronomy**

MWF 1:00-1:50pm; Instructor Kakashi Hatake; 4 credits

**2. ART 131 Foundations: Drawing I**

TR 8:00-8:30am; Instructor Sasori; 4 credits

**3. PHL 202: Introduction of Religious Studies**

TR 10:00-11:30am; Instructor Hidan; 4 credits

**4. HST 201: History of the Land of Fire**

MWF 11:00-11:50am; Instructor Yamato; 4 credits

Naruto gave a wide smirk, he almost couldn't believe his luck.


	4. It's Not Your Responsibility

_**Glass**_

_Chapter #04: It's Not Your Responsibility _

While Gaara's clothes were in the wash, Naruto jolted out of the laundry room and down the corridor. He could feel the wheels in his head turning. He flung the doors to the stairway open and ran to up to the 4th floor. While all floors had quiet hours, the 4th floor of the Hokage dormitory complex was a mandatory 24hr quiet zone. Naruto was an unofficially banned guest here.

The blonde stopped his jog before room 415. He gave a swift series of loud knocks on the door and then waited expectantly with a wide grin. When the heavy door opened to reveal his childhood friend, Naruto spoke, "Hey Sakura! Long time no see!"

"Keep it down Naruto! You know you're not supposed to be here." answered the pink-haired girl in an annoyed tone.

"What are you talking about? They love me here! Anyhoo, do ya got time to talk?"

"Naruto -"

"It's important." Naruto stated with a serious tone as he cut his friend off. The blonde's grin had turned into a tight frown and his eyes gave an intense stare.

Sakura abandoned her mock anger. She recognized the expression on Naruto's face, it was one he rarely held. She ushered the blonde into her room and quietly shut the door behind him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

The blonde observed his friend for a quick minute. Her short carnation pink hair was disheveled and she was still in her night clothes - white shorts and a red tank top. Her green eyes held a sense of worry. Naruto once again plastered a broad grin onto his face and replied, "Well, since you asked. I made a new friend...but he's really skinny. So...uh, could you tell me about starvation...and whatnot?"

Sakura listened to Naruto's words carefully. "How skinny is he?"

"Like toothpick skinny." Naruto spoke while exaggerating his words with rapid hand movements.

"You didn't give him...anything to eat did you?"

"Of course I did!" the exuberant male voiced defensively.

Sakura looked at Naruto with a grave expression. She had guessed the blonde would shove as much food down his 'friend's' throat as he could. "Starvation is a slow process...one that eats the body alive." The blonde's smile fell as he listened to her carefully chosen words. The female student was cautiously selecting phrases that Naruto would likely be able to understand.

Like himself, Sakura was a sophomore. She was independent and strong willed, pursuing her degree in Nutrition with a fierce dedication. The blonde approached Sakura because she's a genius in her field of study. Even though she's only halfway through her bachelor's degree, medical schools were already sending her applications.

After a brief pause, the pink-haired female continued her mindful explanation. "Basically, starvation occurs when a person expends more energy than they take in. To compensate, the body will break down fat tissue and turn it into energy. After all the fat in the body has been depleted, muscle will start to be devoured. Then the body will consume its organs, starting with less important ones...until only the organs essential for living are left. Eventually the body tries to break those down as well...and this results in death. However, starvation weakens the immune system so many people die of infectious disease before that."

Naruto held a stern expression. He couldn't imagine letting the redhead waste away like that. He shuddered as he visualized Gaara's thin frame; the redhead's muscles were barely existent. The blonde found a slight comfort in this, as it meant the redhead's organs safe..at least for now. "Then how come you made it sound like giving him food was such a bad idea earlier?! It doesn't make any sense!" Naruto exclaimed, frustrated at his own bewilderment.

"Because rapidly introducing food to someone suffering from starvation could actually kill them. If your friend is starving...he should be given a small amount of food that is high in protein and kilo-calories, and also fortified with plenty of vitamins and minerals. But...he really should be seeing a doctor about this. It's not a good idea to try to treat this kind of thing on your own."

"Fuck! He's not gonna die because of me, is he?! I was trying to help!" Naruto exclaimed with fear.

"How much did you give him?"

"Uh...I've given him muffins and mochas and a bento box and before that was a sandwich...and this morning was another muffin and coffee...plus a breakfast burrito. But I ended up eating that because he hardly touched it." Naruto explained, trying his best to recount events in a coherent manner.

"How did he react after that?"

"Well, he fainted yesterday. But today he seemed alright. It was hard to tell 'cause we got into a fight earlier, so we didn't really talk. He's probably still pissed at me." Naruto stated, his last sentence more to himself.

"A fight...are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

Sakura's brows furrowed. "Naruto..."

When he detected the hint of sadness to her words, the young male focused more of his attention onto his friend.

"It's not your responsibility to save everyone." Sakura voiced just above a whisper.

"Hmm?"

"If your 'friend' doesn't want your help...just let him be."

With a long sigh, Naruto replied "I can't do that."

"Why do you have to be like this? Some people don't want your help Naruto!" as Sakura shouted, she was on the verge of tears.

"Sakura..."

After a moment to calm herself, Sakura placed a mirthless smile on her face. "I'm sorry Naruto. It's just...I don't' want you to get hurt."

Naruto gave this friend an honest smirk. He understood why the medical prodigy was upset and wanted to calm her fears. "Don't worry Sakura. Gaara's nothing like Sasuke. He loves sweets...so y'know they're completely opposite."

Sakura gave a light, low laugh at Naruto's words. Only the blonde would use such a meaningless contrast to consolidate her. She looked upon Naruto with a tender look; the goofy youth held a special place in her heart. People like Naruto just didn't exist - at least, that's what she thought. The blonde couldn't stand the fact that suffering took place in the world. He would give it everything he had to help someone. Sakura had always admired his determination. But this insatiable need to rescue people almost cost Naruto his life. She felt partially responsible for this; after all, he only pursued Sasuke as fervently as he did because of her.

Naruto hated breaking promises. At first, it was difficult for him to face Sakura after his utter failure to bring Sasuke back. He understood her reservations about Gaara, but he couldn't let himself sit on the sidelines as the redhead slowly famished. The memories of his childhood served as an indestructible motivation to aid anyone that might need it, even if they themselves refused his assistance.

A beeping sound emanated from Naruto's pocket, altering him that Gaara's clothes were ready for the dryer. He pulled out his cellphone and shut off the alarm. "I have to go, but thanks for all of your help."

"Wait Naruto, one more thing. Symptoms of starvation also include irritability, apathy, listlessness, withdrawal, and hyperactivity. His stomach is shrunk, so if you're going to feed him remember to make sure it's in small portions. And no more caffeine. As for the fainting, try to get him to see a doctor."

"Thanks Sakura. I really mean it." It touched Naruto's heart that his friend was supporting his effort to help Gaara even though she herself was weary of the situation.

* * *

It was currently 8:36am. Naruto had just finished folding Gaara's clothes and placing them onto his bed. He still had some time before his math class, so the blonde started a light jog to the Senju Administration Building.

By the time the blonde finally arrived at his location, he was slightly out of breath. He quickly located the office of Shizune and invited himself inside. Naruto's intrusion was commonplace, so the black-haired women paid him no mind.

"Yo Shizune!"

"Hello Naruto. What can I help you with today?" Shizune questioned. She is the treasurer of the university and also takes on other important tasks that the careless president, Tsunade, ignores.

"I was just with the old bat and she says she needs to see you...urgently. It sounded kinda important. I hope you're not in trouble or anything..."

"Oh! Well then, excuse me." Shizune spoke in a worried tone. She quickly got up and gave Naruto a short bow before hurriedly making her exit.

Naruto let a sly smirk appear on his face when the kind female disappeared from view. _'Shizune is just too gullible. She trusts me way too much.' _

The blonde took a seat on Shizune's chair and logged onto her computer. Naruto had often worked small jobs for Shizune and learned her password from watching her type it in so many times.

The mischievous youth filed through the student directory and pulled up Gaara's profile. When he had first encountered the redhead, he had some personal data on his school schedule - such as his date of birth and place of residence. Because of the students' outcry concerning privacy, only the schedules of freshman beginning their first term displayed this information. Naruto once again acknowledged his luck.

As he scanned over the content's of Gaara's profile, he was slightly aware of the invasive nature to his action. However he thought it was for the better good, so he held no guilty conscious. His smirk grew as the discovered Gaara was renting out a 20-day free locker at the Final Valley Library.

* * *

By 9:22am, Naruto was returning to his dorm room. He spotted his friend Kiba in the hallway, likely returning from a trip to the floor's community restroom. The blonde often poked fun at his feral friend for not having a private bathroom. Because Naruto was a resident assistant, he received the best dorm layout as complements of the university.

"Yo, Kiba!"

The tired male abruptly stopped and turned to face the blonde. "Oh, hey Naruto. Do you always have to be so fucking loud in the morning?"

Naruto brushed off Kiba's last statement, knowing the other male meant no offense. "Hey, did you happen to see the little redhead guy from Friday around here?" the blonde asked. According to Gaara's schedule, he should be free at the moment. Naruto had hoped the prickly male would show up around this time.

"The Suna kid?"

"Huh?"

Kiba broke out into a heavy laugh. "Oh, come on Naruto! Even I didn't think you were that stupid!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Naruto spat in a hate-less anger. Both he and Kiba were known to have short tempers, but they rarely held any actual ire behind their rage.

The wild-looking youth controlled his snickering and said, "The little guy was wearing a sweatshirt with the Suna emblem on the back; it looks kinda like an hourglass. Suna is the capital of the Land of Wind. But don't worry Naruto, it's only one of the most prominent cities in the world!" Kiba burst out in another fit of laughter, adding further insult to his sarcastic comment.

Naruto huffed out his cheeks. "I'm not good at geography, so what!"

"It's actually kinda sad that you didn't know that." Kiba stated as his joyous roar died down.

"Up yours. And did you see him here or not?"

"In the dorm? No...why would he show up here anyway?"

"No reason. But tell me if you ever see him, okay?"

"Hey...the yelling I heard earlier, was that from him?" The brunette questioned as realization slowly dawned on him.

"Sorry. That was my fault." stated Naruto as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, well you should be sorry. It woke me out of a dead sleep! And at like four o'clock in the morning!"

"I said I was sorry! And it was not that early!"

"Whatever." Kiba responded. "Oh yeah, where do you want to have your party? We obviously can't have it at the dorms."

"Hm? Oh shit, next week's my birthday, huh?" Naruto replied with slight embarrassment. "Uh...how about at Neji's place?"

"Sounds good, i guess." The brunette wasn't thrilled to have Neji host Naruto's birthday party. The Hyuuga was known to be stingy about such things as giving under-aged students alcohol, but he had his own two-story flat - and it was huge.

Naruto was on the fifth floor of the Final Valley Library. He was sitting in front of Gaara's locker, hoping the redhead would come by. It was currently 11:23am and Gaara was due out of class in a few minutes. Naruto himself had a class at noon. The blonde passed the time by contemplating on the information Sakura gave him. _'He definitely shows all the symptoms Sakura told me about. But that shouldn't be surprising, since he's obviously starving. But I can't help to wonder if some of that is just his personality. That would be interesting...yet I still can't figure out why he's not eating. I doubt it's from an eating disorder. He seems to really enjoy devouring those muffins. But that doesn't mean he won't force himself to throw it up later. But I still don't think that's the case...he seemed to be embarrassed about his looks earlier. Still, if it was because of money issues...why didn't he go to the food-bank? They may not have the best food, but it's still something he could survive off of. Kiba said something about another country. Do they not have food-banks there? But just because Gaara was wearing a coat with their logo, doesn't mean he actually lived there.' _

The sound of confrontation roused Naruto from his inner musings. He looked down the hall and saw, to his surprise, Gaara. The distempered voice he heard was coming from a tall brunette.

"Sometimes you just gotta do what your big brother tells you to do." The brunette seethed as he grabbed a hold of Gaara's shirt collar. The redhead didn't say anything, but he did raise his arm to knock away the offending hold. The brunette looked ready to lose what little composer he had left, so Naruto decided to intervene. "Can I help you?" he stated with an indifferent expression.

"Mind your own business, punk."

"Well, this is my business. Gaara is my friend." At this statement, the brunette expressed a momentary look of shock. Naruto took note of this and also observed Gaara sneaking away to his locker.

Finding his words, the tall male countered "And Gaara's my brother." Now it was Naruto's turn to be astounded. He looked over the brunette from head to toe, noticing his stocky but muscular build. This quickly enraged Naruto. "He's your brother?! Then how could you let him fucking waste away like that? You look like you've got plenty to eat!" the blonde spat out like venom.

The brunette's rage quickly flared. He didn't know to what extend Gaara's physical appearance had taken, but it was obvious that the redhead had grown skinnier. This was most evident as he saw Gaara without the baggy layers of clothing he usually wore. However, he detested the accusations thrown by the younger male. He vehemently replied, "You don't know shit. Gaara ran away from home, and he doesn't want our help." With that the brunette stormed off in the opposite direction, making his way towards the stairway.

Naruto wasn't the least bit fazed by the brunette's declaration. In his mind, that was no good reason for Gaara's condition. Hiding his enraged state, the blonde made his way over to Gaara.


End file.
